Read here first before you buy sound bar speakers

Have you recently gotten yourself a new flat screen TV, but not really satisfied with the sound quality of the speakers? And you don’t want to spend too much money on a surround sound system but still want good quality sound? Well, the answer to this problem is finding a sound bar for sale. You have probably seen them before. A sound bar is a thin, vertically lying speaker that sits in front or below a television.

As TV’s have gotten smaller, the space for the sound systems within the television has also decreased. The standard TV speakers are too small and are just not designed to reproduce deep, low, bass sounds. They are also normally facing away from you, and have a problem with accurately creating high-pitched treble sounds. This produces a muffled, tinny, listening experience that is just not up to standard when you are trying to watch your favorite series or movie.

Here’s how sound bars work and a few pro’s and con’s so you can decide if a sound bar is right for you or not.

How does a sound bar work?

Your typical sound bar for sale is essentially made up of multiple speakers that point in different positions. They all sit inside the bar and point in different directions to create the sense of surround sound. The speaker bar uses the psycho-acoustic effect which is where sound bounces off the wall of a room to make it seem like the sound is coming from different sources.

Each speaker pushes out a different sound, one might produce the treble and one the low end bass. This ensures there is no loss of sound quality like in a conventional speaker where one sound frequency might overpower another.

The benefits of having a sound bar

The audio is pointed towards you and reflects off the walls using the psycho-acoustic effect to enhance the resonation of the sound waves. This is much better than your standard TV speaker that generally isn’t even facing the viewer.

The price of a sound bar varies quite a bit but they are much cheaper than surround sound systems, in general, because they are a single unit and not made up of multiple parts. Some are in fact superior in quality to your lower end surround sound systems.

Almost all sound bars come with a subwoofer which distinguishes the low end sounds from the higher frequencies. This means that you will always be able to hear the low end which is great for movies and music.

They look great. Instead of having a massive system that has to sit in a designated space, you get something that’s sleek and doesn’t take up any floor space.

The negatives of having a sound bar

The speakers might block your remote’s signal. They are very wide and if you don’t wall mount the device, then you will probably place it in front of your TV. This can sometimes block the receiver. Some sound bar manufacturers have started to design their systems to allow the signal to pass through and others have been designed to be placed underneath the TV like a stand.

‘Virtual surround’ or the psycho-acoustic effect isn’t as effective as true surround sound. This is to be expected as proper surround sound actually has speakers all around the viewer. This is why these units are cheaper.

What sound bar brands are available in South Africa?

Series 6 HW-J651 Samsung sound bar

This series of sound bars for sale produce 320 watts of excellent sound quality and clarity through a 4.1 channel sound. It can sync up with their Samsung devices that have the Multiroom Link functionality and you can essentially turn every speaker in your house into a giant surround sound system. You can also wirelessly sync up your smart device with the device so you can stream music straight from any smart phone or tablet.

Total Power: 320 W

Number of Channels: 4.1

Gross Dimension (HxWxD): 1115 x 481 x 206mm

Remote controller: yes

Total Weight: 11.5 kg

A Samsung sound bar on Junk Mail:

LAS450H LG sound bar

LG’s newest sound bar features a wireless sub-woofer so you don’t have to clutter up your home with unnecessary cables. LG’s Mood Matrix with the Music Flow BD application will actually recommend songs to match your current mood or activity. You can even set it to play automatically. It has Optical, HDMI, and 3.5mm Analog jack inputs. You can also connect the sound bar to the TV wirelessly if it has Bluetooth support.

Total Power: 220W

Number of Channels: 2.1

Main Dimension (HxWxD): 880 x 78 x 95 mm

Remote controller: Yes

Total Weight: 7.8 kg

LG sound bars on Junk Mail:

SB400 JBL sound bar

The JBL CINEMA SB400 pumps out 120 watts of high quality sound. It has integrated Bluetooth technology which can be used for streaming music from digital devices. Its plug and play system means that you can easily connect to it just about any device that has sound output. It’s also able to learn what your current TV remote uses to send it signal so you can “teach” your JBL system to work from your normal TV remote.

Total Power: 120W

Number of Channels: 2.1

Main Dimension (HxWxD): 10 cm x 6.4 cm x 9.5 cm

Remote controller: Yes

Total Weight: 13.3 kg

JBL sound bars on Junk Mail:

To find the right sound system, first evaluate your needs and then make your decision accordingly. This will depend a lot on what the size of the room is and what kind of sound quality are you looking for. It will also depend on the system you are plugging the speakers into as some will require a special connection. As an example, your TV might only have HDMI inputs which means you will have to get a sound bar with an HDMI connection.